Storybook Weekend Debuts at Sister Cities Park First Weekend in May

Celebrate reading with guest authors, characters and an unveiling of new Library in the Park Book Cart presented by TD Bank.

PHILADELPHIA (April 6, 2017) – Celebrate spring and story time at Sister Cities Park, Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7 during the first-ever Storybook Weekend presented by TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®. The festival brings together visiting authors, cultural partners and lots of fun to enjoy the park. Families can enjoy story reading sessions by special guest readers and local authors every 30-minutes, along with musical entertainment, make-and-take crafts, face painting, and balloon art. Both days will be hosted by children’s entertainer and author Silly Joe, as he plays live music, tells jokes and reads from his book, “Big Billy and the Ice Cream Truck that Wouldn’t Stop!” Children can also meet local heroes and tour a real-life Philadelphia fire truck on Sunday, May 7.

Special guest authors and illustrators include: *

Saturday, May 6:
11:00 a.m. Event kicks off with a full range of activities11:30 a.m. Marty the Moose from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University will read his favorite book12:30 p.m. Library in the Park Book Cart dedication ceremony1:00 p.m. Illustrator Angela Dominguez, will read from her book, “Martha! Big & Tall”2:00 p.m. Patti McLaughlin of The Free Library of Philadelphia will read a childhood favorite

Sunday, May 7:

11:00 a.m. Event kicks off with a full range of activities11:30 p.m. Thomas Rockett, Soccer Shots Academy will host a reading and soccer activity12:00 p.m. Author Tara Lazar reads from her book “Way Past Bedtime”1:00 p.m. Author Brian Biggs reads from his series “Tinyville Town Series”2:00 p.m. Chris Brown of the Free Library of Philadelphia will read a childhood favorite

*Schedule and activities are subject to change.

Throughout the event, guests can grab lunch or snacks at the Logan Square Café. There will be live musical entertainment, activities and more throughout the weekend, including:

The Free Library of Philadelphia, on-site with the Book Bike to help attendees sign up for library cards. Philadelphia Parks and Recreation will have nature-themed crafts. Fleisher Art Memorial will bring Color Wheels to the park for children to make a craft to take home on Sunday, May 7. The Philadelphia Renaissance Faire will provide live entertainment including renaissance themed crafts, a magician, and harpist. Nest will be on-site with parachute play. Guests are encouraged to bring gently used books to add to the newly renovated book cart for the park that will be unveiled as part of the festivities.

Courtesy of corporate partner TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank® with support from the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Lindback Foundation, the Library in the Park program has been refreshed with a larger, brighter cart, and it now includes more books for children to read. It is ongoing and available during park hours for children to select books to read while they are in the park. The program is geared toward toddlers and preschoolers with books specially selected for their age group. New this season, Sister Cities Park will have a reading area; complete with small, children-sized Adirondack chairs.

Storybook Weekend is sponsored by TD Bank, in partnership with: The Free Library of Philadelphia.

For full details and event updates, visit www.sistercitiespark.org. Throughout the month, see the Butterfly Festival on Exhibit in the children’s Discovery Garden presented by the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation After-School Program.

About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.tdbank.com. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD". To learn more, visit www.td.com.

Sister Cities Park was first dedicated in 1976 in recognition of Philadelphia's commitment to the international Sister Cities program. The park was redesigned and rededicated in 2012. Like the international flags that are on display along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Sister Cities Park celebrates Philadelphia's commitment to strengthening global economic ties and cultural understanding. The Sister Cities program links Philadelphia to the world by creating special relationships with eight Sister Cities and three Partnership Cities in 10 countries, which include: Florence, Italy; Tel Aviv, Israel; Torun, Poland; Tianjin, China; Incheon, Korea; Douala, Cameroon; Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; Kobe, Japan; Aix-en-Provence, France and Abruzzo, Italy. In July 2015, the German city of Frankfurt am Main also was added to the list. For more information on the program, visit www.cdiphila.org.

The Center City District, a private-sector organization dedicated to making Center City Philadelphia clean, safe and attractive, is committed to maintaining Center City’s competitive edge as a regional employment center, a quality place to live, and a premier regional destination for dining, shopping and cultural attractions. Find us at www.centercityphila.org and on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Center City District (CCD), Central Philadelphia Development Corporation (CPDC) and Center City District Foundation (CCDF) work together to enhance the vitality and competitiveness of Philadelphia's downtown. In 1991 the business leadership organization CPDC created the CCD business improvement district to deliver daily services with the goal of making Center City clean and safe. This helped transform Center City into a vibrant 24-hour downtown, attractive to businesses, residents, students, shoppers and tourists. In addition, the CCD is responsible for the management of Dilworth, Sister Cities, John F. Collins and Cret Parks, four extraordinary public spaces in the heart of Center City. CCDF, the charitable affiliate of the CCD, was launched in 2016 to support the next generation of public space improvements in Center City Philadelphia.